Pit-Fall
The Pit has been closed and sealed and the Joes temporarily quartered with the Chaplain's assistants. Hawk accompanies a team from the Special Committee, comprised of Generals Ryan and Hollingsworth and Admiral Dyson, in inspecting the deactivated base. While Hollingsworth agrees with Hawk that Cobra is a serious threat and Dyson has an open mind, Ryan believes it has been blown out of proportion. He replays films of the ruins of Springfield, an ordinary town where there was no evidence of the allegation it was ever the Cobra Headquarters. He dismisses as circumstantial footage of Serpentor and the Cobra vehicles found at the airport. Up in the chaplain's assistants' tea room of Fort Wadsworth the Joes are restless and are slowly demolishing the room, to the horror of the assistants, Cecil and Clarence who head outside. There they meet an armored car leading two semi-trucks to the motor pool and direct them through. The assistants moan about how the motor pool still gets huge shipments of spare parts even after its been shut down, but Spirit listens from a window and isn't so sure. Elsewhere on the base down by the river Flint is coming on heavily to Lady Jaye, who resists. Suddenly she grabs him and pulls him to the ground - but only because she's spotted hordes of Cobra Eels emerging from the river. At the motor pool the armored car crew reveal themselves to be Zartan, Zarana and Zandar, while Cobra Commander, Destro and Serpentor disembark from the trucks. Serpentor sends the first squad of B.A.T.s down to the Pit and Cobra Commander continues to bemoan how Serpentor is trying to take his victory away. Down in the Pit, Hawk and the committee see the B.A.T.s entering on the monitors and locks the elevator. The B.A.T.s simply jump down the rest of the shaft and even though they break on impact they keep coming. Hawk grabs weapons from the wall lockers and tells the others they must get to the lower levels for cover. On the river bank Flint tells Lady Jaye to warn the others while he charges head on. The Eels proceed to beat him up, but want to keep things quiet. Back in the Pit, Hawk and the committee are only just holding the ground and a B.A.T. signals the situation to Destro on the surface who reports the lack of initiative by the androids. He suggests human leadership and troops are needed down there. Serpentor is about to head down when Cobra Commander pulls rank and declares he will go down. Destro volunteers to come with him. As they descend in the lift Zarana asks if this causes trouble for Serpentor's plans but the reply is negative. Outside Spirit, Quick Kick and Cross-Country discretely observe the Cobra invasion as Lady Jaye joins them. But all their weapons are locked in the pit. Down below Cobra Commander and Destro survey the situation and the sight of Hawk causes the former to declare he wants the kill personally. Up on the surface the Eels have left one of their number to guard Flint as the rest sneak their way across the base. But Flint overpowers his guard and takes his rifle. Down below Cobra Commander primes a B.A.T. with explosives to walk down the stairs and clear it. He is unconcerned when Destro reports he has sent Cobra Troopers down the ventilation duct. The B.A.T. faces the committee, but Dyson charges and holds it down, telling the others to flee. Hawk pushes Ryan and Hollingsworth through the blast doors and seals them. Ryan is furious that Dyson is going to die a hero, but Dyson pushes the manual detonator on the B.A.T., fooling Cobra Commander into believing Hawk is dead. Up in the chaplain's assistants' school arms room the Joes confront Percy, the armorer, and try to convince him they are G.I. Joe and have their base below Fort Wadsworth. Percy is skeptical but a bloodied Flint staggers in and orders it. Roadblock (see Errors, below) tears open the armory door and Spirit starts distributing. Down below Hawk leads Ryan and Hollingsworth along the lowest level towards the escape tunnel, passing the structural supporting pillars. Ryan starts laying explosives and asks if it's worth sacrificing the Pit to take out the Cobra High Command. Minutes later Cobra Commander and Destro come through. Destro is concerned about how thinly stretched they are now, but Cobra Commander doesn't care as he sees Hawk cornered. Up in the motor pool Serpentor finds his plans foiled as the Eels stagger in, retreating from the Joes who pin them down. Down on the lowest level a grenade knocks over heavy equipment, crushing Ryan's legs. He pulls rank and directly orders Hawk and Hollingsworth to leave in the escape tunnel as he grabs the detonator. Destro suddenly notices the blasting cable but Ryan triggers the detonator and the Pit collapses. Up above the other Cobras use the distraction of the explosion and a huge crater to flee aboard one of the semis. Hollingsworth and Hawk emerge via the watertower and look at the destruction. Hollingsworth tells Hawk that G.I. Joe is unsuspended and Hawk is back in command. They will be a nomad unit without a vulnerable home base and asks when they can get mobilized. "Right now, Sir," replies Hawk. | Appearing1 = Featured Characters | Errors1=*When the Joes are goofing around in the barracks, Roadblock is colored white. It isn't until they mount their counterattack on the Motor Pool that he's colored properly and you can tell just who he was supposed to be all along. *Percy seems to know about G.I. Joe and Cobra. | ItemsOfNote1=*'First Appearances:' General Hollingsworth, Admiral Dyson, General Ryan *Beginning of Flint and Lady Jaye's relationship. *Beach Head (Army) and Leatherneck (Marines) arm-wrestle in the tea room, with the members of their respective branches cheering each of them on. * As part of the 25th anniversary celebration of Marvel Comics, the covers for all issues released this month shared the same trade dress, with a closeup of a single character surrounded by a frame featuring numerous Marvel heroes. Snake-Eyes was chosen for the G.I. Joe cover, despite not appearing in the issue.Other covers from this month can be seen at Kleefeld on Comics: Marvel's 25th Anniversary. *General Ryan's eyepatch is probably a nod to Marvel's Nick Fury character, especially considering the G.I. Joe comic evolved from an idea for a series about Fury's son putting together an elite anti-terrorist team. * In the United Kingdom the story was reprinted in Transformers #174, #175, #176 & #177. | Footnotes= }}